Toy vehicle track set



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A. EINFALT Toy VEHICLE TRACK SET Sheet Filed-Oct. 27, 1966 United States Patent US. or. 46-40 6 Claims 1111. or. A63h 33/30, 11/10, 19/00 This invention relates to a toy vehicle track set, which is provided with road tracks for toy vehicles, said vehicles being movable along such track by means of screw springs located in recesses in the tracks which they engage by means of a pin-like driver depending from a vehicle. The screw springs are driven by means 'of a suitable device, for example by means of a small electric motor.

The object of the invention is to construct a toy vehicle track set of this kind in such a manner, that it offers interesting possibilities of play and exerts an increased play stimulus.

According to the present invention, the construction is such, that each track has an upper unloading station with which is associated a lower loading station of another track and a stop is provided at each unloading station which causes tilting of a pivoted container of a vehicle for unloading material such as sand or gravel placed therein.

The loading stations are each provided with a downwardly opening container normally closed by flap as well as associated with a chute for leading dischargeable material such as from an unloading station into it so that such material can be alternately collected and released.

In one form of unloading station, the stop is constituted by a cam surface, raised up from the track surface, which co-operates with a tipping arm of a vehicle pivoted container. In another form or? unloading station there is provided as the stop an oblique surface projecting into the range of movement of a lateral arm of a vehicle pivoted container to cause tilting of it. The toy vehicle track set may have either form of stop, or, for example, one of each.

A further feature of the present invention consists in that, after their unloading or loading, and the toy vehicles are moved in a direction opposite to that of their previous movement by reversing the drive of the screw springs, they turn around automatically at a curved part of a track, so. that a previously reversing vehicle thereafter travels forwards. To this end, a lateral widening of the track surface is provided at each of the track curves concerned, onto which widened portion the wheels of a vehicle can run to cause such vehicle to pivot about its driver pin, projecting into the driving spring, and thereafter continue normally along the track. In order more positively to secure such reversing movement of the vehicle, a guiding rib for engaging the wheel of a vehicle may be provided at each of the widened track sections.

According to a further feature of the present invention, oblique ramps may be provided at the end of a track on either side of the groove accommodating the driving screw spring, so that on reaching that end of the track, the vehicle is slightly lifted, with the result, that its driver pin is lifted out of the driving spring so that although the spring continues to rotate, no further forward movement can be exerted on the vehicle. When the rotation of the driving spring is reversed for vehicle drive in the opposite direction, the vehicle driver pin remains engaging into the screw spring and the vehicle is driven in the other direction.

The accompanying drawings illustrate schematically 3,426,474 Patented Feb. 11, 1969 an exemplary embodiment of the invention and in these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the toy vehicle track set;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section along the line II--II of FIG. 3:

FIG. 3 is a top view (without illustration of the mountains);

FIG. 4 is a section taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3 and shown on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is a section taken along the line VV of FIG. 4 also on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 6 is a detail view of .a widened portion of track and its adjacent unloading station;

FIG. 7 is a section taken along the line VIIVII in FIG. '6;

FIG. 8 is a detail plan view of another form of unloading station shown on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 9 is a section taken along the line IXIX of FIG. 8, and

FIG. 10 is a partial section at this unloading station as seen from the left hand side of FIG. 9 and showing a tilted vehicle container.

From the stand base 1 of the set rise the mountain models 2, 3 and 4. Together with other details to be described later, they are formed integrally with the base 1 [from a plastics material foil by the vacuum deep-drawing process. The set may of course also be made of other material, such as sheet metal.

The set has the two road tracks 5 and 6, along which the toy vehicles can be propelled by means of the screw springs 9, 34 respectively sunk into the tracks, into which screw springs may engage driving pins 31 depending from toy vehicles 7 and similar pins 37 from the vehicles 8.

The screw springs 9, 34 are driven 'by any suitable means, for example a small electric motor. The associated current source, e.g. batteries, can be accommodated in the housing 10, while the switching levers 11 and 12 serve for the forward and reverse actuation of the respective screw springs 9, 34. The motor can be switched on and off by means of a switch actuated by a lever 13.

The track 5 leads from the loading station 14 to the unloading station 15, while the track 6 extends between the loading station 16 and the unloading station 17. Thus, with each low-level loading station of a track there is always associated a high-level unloading station of the other track.

Between the two mountains 3 and 4, the track 6 is bridged over by the track 5 on the bridge 18.

At the unloading stations 17, 15 downwards-opening bins 19, 35 respectively are provided, to which bins unloaded material slides over a chute 20 (see FIG. 4) in the case of the unloading station 17 and over the chute 28 and oblique plane 29 in the case of the unloading station 15.

A pivotable closing flap 21 is arranged in each of the bins 19 and 35, which flap in the position shown in full lines in FIG. 4 retains the unloaded material, while in the position indicated in broken lines allows the material to slide into the vehicle 7 standing ready for loading in the loading station 14 or into the vehicle 8 in the case of the loading station 16. A lever 21 may be provided to [facilitate manual rocking of the flap 21.

When a vehicle 8 reaches the unloading station 17, the arm 22 of its tipping box 23 collides with the cam 24, raised up from the surface of the track on each side of the screw spring, with the result that the box 23 is pivoted into the position shown in dotted lines (see FIG. 4) to cause discharge of any material contained therein.

The other unloading station 15 is arranged for a vehicle 7 with laterally pivotable box 26 and has for this purpose an oblique ramp 25, (see FIGS. 8-10) which projects into the path of movement of the counterstop or arm 27 arranged laterally on the tipping box 26. The counter-stop or arm 27 slips under the ramp 25 with the effect that the tipping box 26 is brought into the unloading position shown in FIG. 10 to discharge material contained therein.

It is advisable, as illustrated in FIG. 5, to provide at the end of each track on each side of the screw spring oblique rising surfaces 30 for the wheels of a vehicle, so that they and thereby also the vehicles are slightly lifted in the terminal position, so that the driver pin 31 disengages from the screw spring 9. Thus a toy vehicle 7 coming from the right in FIG. 5 pushes with its front wheels against the surfaces 30. So long as the spiral spring 9 continues to move in the same direction, the wheels on the starting surface are pushed upwards, namely until the pin 31 leaves the spring 9. At this moment the vehicle 7 again rolls back, the pin 31 re-engages the spring, the vehicle is again raised, and so on. While this is what in fact occurs, all that shows is, that the vehicle vibrates. If the drive is switched off, the pin 31 remains in engagement with the spiral spring 9. On switching the drive to opposite direction, the spiral spring can then move the vehicle in the direction of the arrow x. Such vibration of a vehicle assists emptying of the contents of its tilted container.

A vehicle leaves each loading and unloading station in reverse. Thus as it had arrived frontally by being pulled by its pin, it leaves the station backwards by being pushed. Each of the two tracks 5, 6 is therefore, adjacent each end thereof, adapted to permit the toy vehicles to turn about their respective driving pins at a curved part of the track so that they will continue to travel facing forwards. Thus at each such track part there is a widened portion 36, 39 and 32, 38 where the track curves and onto which portion the leading (rear) wheels of a toy vehicle may run. In the case of a vehicle 8 at the unloading station 17 (see FIGS. 6 and 7), on reversing the rotation of the spring screw 6 such vehicle moves backwards due to the pushing action of its driving pin '31 and moves from the full line position into the position shown in chain line due to its wheels running onto the widened portion 32 and is then turned into the position shown in dotted line by the continued pull of its pin 31, which is moved by the rotating spring screw.

The same reversing action takes place on the other widened portions 36, 38, 39 of the tracks.

In order to make such turning more positive, ribs such as shown at 33, 40 on the widened portions 32, 36 may be provided which have been also formed out of the plastic foil and may be engaged by the wheels of a vehicle.

I claim:

1. In a toy vehicle track set, first and second road tracks each having at one end a high-level unloading station and at its other end a low-level loading station, a screw spring in a recess in each of said first and second road tracks, a toy vehicle with a tiltable container and having a depending pin engageable in said screw spring of said first and second road tracks, means at each of said high-level unloading stations for causing tilting of a said container on its vehicle reaching said station, a bin above each of said low-level loading stations, means for con veying material discharged at said high-level unloading station of said first road track to said bin above said loading station of said second road track, means for conveying material discharged at said high-level unloading station of said second road track to said bin above said loading station of said first road track, a flap in each said bin, and means for driving each of said screw springs selectively in forward and reverse drive directions.

2. In a toy vehicle track set as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means at said high-level unloading station comprise cams formed out of the surface of said road track and means on said container for abutting said cams to cause tilting of said container.

3. In a toy vehicle track set as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means at said high-level unloading station comprises a projecting oblique surface and said container has a lateral arm to be acted on by said surface to tilt said container.

4. In a toy vehicle track set as claimed in claim 1, including at least one curved portion of said first and second road tracks, a lateral widening of said curved portion, and means for turning a vehicle on said widened portion about its said depending pin.

5. In a toy vehicle track set as claimed in claim 4, an upwardly projecting rib on at least one of said widened portions of said first and second road tracks.

6. In a toy vehicle track set as claimed in claim 1, cam means at at least one of said stations for lifting the wheels of a said toy vehicle to lift said depending pin from engagement with said spring screw.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,876,584 3/1959 Smith 4640 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,322,926 2/1963 France.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

C. R. WENTZEL, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

1. IN A TOY VEHICLE TRACK SET, FIRST AND SECOND ROAD TRACKS EACH HAVING AT ONE END A HIGH-LEVEL UNLOADING STATION AND AT ITS OTHER END A LOW-LEVEL LOADING STATION, A SCREW SPRING IN A RECESS IN EACH OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND ROAD TRACKS, A TOY VEHICLE WITH A TILTABLE CONTAINER AND HAVING A DEPENDING PIN ENGAGEABLE IN SAID SCREW SPRING OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND ROAD TRACKS, MEANS AT EACH OF SAID HIGH-LEVEL UNLOADING STATIONS FOR CAUSING TILTING OF A SAID CONTAINER ON ITS VEHICLE REACHING SAID STATION, A BIN ABOVE EACH OF SAID LOW-LEVEL LOADING STATIONS, MEANS FOR CONVEYING MATERIAL DISCHARGED AT SAID HIGH-LEVEL UNLOADING STATION OF SAID FIRST ROAD TRACK TO SAID BIN ABOVE SAID LOADING STATION OF SAID SECOND ROAD TRACK, MEANS FOR CONVEYING MATERIAL DISCHARGED AT SAID HIGH-LEVEL UNLOADING STATION OF SAID SECOND ROAD TRACK TO SAID BIN ABOVE SAID LOADING AND MEANS FOR DRIVING EACH OF SAID SCREW SPRINGS SELECTIVELY IN FORWARD AND REVERSE DRIVE DIRECTIONS. 